This is a general issue so may not be the right sub forum, but as I’m an Octavia man I thought I would start here.

A detailed and protracted three way dialogue between Skoda, the RAC and myself on the subject of full size spare wheel provision has just completed. The story behind this is too long and involved to repeat here, but I thought that forum members may be interested in some of the points that arose.

(1) Skoda (Europe HQ) are considering making the spare wheel a dealer option as well as a factory fitted option. The dealer option “kit†price would have to be less than the price of purchasing the parts separately from the spares department. This would help owners who either change their mind, or purchase a new car already manufactured (as I had to for various reasons), or who purchase the car second hand and would like a spare wheel. A decision will possibly be made later this year, and in the meantime Skoda are “monitoring†the issue. Forum members who have an opinion about this may consider emailing their thoughts to Skoda Customer Services in the UK.

(2) Although not actually coming out and saying this outright, I inferred from our conversations that the question of spare wheel provision as a standard is a dead issue as far as Skoda are concerned . Lobbying on this topic is politely accepted by Skoda, but it is probably going nowhere.. As most of you probably know the loss of the wheel primarily stems from having to meet emissions targets, and models struggling to meet those targets will be the first to lose their spare wheel as standard because of the weight saving. However competitive pressure from other manufacturers, national attitudes, and customer pressure in each country in the EU means that Skoda are moving cautiously to implement this. This will probably mean that the spare wheel will not disappear overnight. However I would personally not bet on any spare wheel being provided in a couple of years time. The world of gunk beckons!

(3) On my behalf Skoda Customer Services spoke to Skoda Assist regarding the RAC attending in the event of a flat tyre and no spare wheel being fitted/carried. Customer Services told me (verbally - they declined to put it in writing) that the RAC would attend and recover (if necessary) as this was written into the contract between the RAC and Skoda Assist. However I have been made aware of instances where the RAC have been reluctant to attend in circumstances where the service contract has been directly between a member and the RAC itself. In fact their standard terms and conditions (look them up on their website) refers to this very situation, and in them the RAC specifically reserves the right NOT to attend if a spare wheel is NOT fitted. At present I believe that the RAC will generally attend, but I detect that they are not happy with the lack of spare wheel provision. Now they may have to recover (possibly for a long distance) whereas before they could simply change the wheel. In other words the policy of the manufacturers is starting to cost the RAC (and other recovery companies) money. The moral is that at the moment for the first 3 years you are OK with Skoda Assist; after that – who knows with certainty?

Apologies for the length of this post, but I have condensed it the best I can.

The best way around this would be keep a hold of the one you have at the moment before you trade it in for a new one, that's if the new car does not come with one.

My spare has never been on the car yet

Good point Skippy, but......

The next problem when they do not provide a well in the boot to house the spare. I believe this may already the case with some cars (Ford Ka?)

the spare wheel well is still present even with no spare, its just filled with a big piece of foam which contains the Jack, Tyre inflator, Tyre gunk, Wheel wrench, locking wheel nut key and tyre inflator. My dad just added a spare wheel to his Fabia greenline which does not come as standard with a spare.

So if I go and order the spare wheel for my car off a dealer, what will I get?

A normal 16" steel one or a damned awful space saver one?

I'm aware that the well is present at the moment. The point I was trying to make is that it may not be in future. On some makes/models there is no well already or is only big enought o take a run flat.

Indiana - Personally I'm not sure. It seems to vary. The variable floor seems to cause a problem regarding sizes that fit (according to some on this forum)

Because I had to purchase without a spare I bought a new full size 16 inch steel and tools and fitted that. It fits OK in my estate (with variable floor).

the full size spare was a selling point at one time. Full sized alloy as well if fitted.

In Australia spare wheels and tools are standard equipment on all Skodas.

Its a space saver as an option on the vRS NOT a full size spare..apparantly

Good point Skippy, but......

The next problem when they do not provide a well in the boot to house the spare. I believe this may already the case with some cars (Ford Ka?)

Skoda Yeti does not have a proper spare wheel well. Boot floorpan from a Golf 4motion designed for a skinny space saver due to rear diff and back box underneath.

The 'space saver=full size' option if you know what I mean, therefore reduces boot capacity seats up from 416 to 322 ltrs. For some this has been a major stumbling block to considering the Yeti over say a Scout.

Regards,

TP

edit typo

Edited 21 January, 201016 yr by The Plumber

In Australia spare wheels and tools are standard equipment on all Skodas.

With the distances in Aus, I should jolly well think so too!

Is this the reason for the much hyped weight saving of the fl to the pre fl

I'll say one thing, the false boot floor + the side bits you get in the Octavia Estate damn well nearly weigh the same as the spare wheel that lurks beneath.

Make them out of something a little lighter than chipboard or whatever and you can almost offset the weight of a spare. Failing that, put the false floor in the garage as I did on day one

I would never be without a spare even if it has to live in the boot with the shopping.

Is this the reason for the much hyped weight saving of the fl to the pre fl

Regarding whats in the car with no spare - I have a month old Octy and there is no jack included, just the other kit listed on the earlier post. Im phoning scrappies regulaly hoping some poor sod has had a disagreement in their Octy and thus I can get a spare.

An old argument, which Skoda/Vag dont seem to care much about.

All you can do is chew the dealers ear off at ordering time that car must have it, at no cost, and get it in writing!

Regarding whats in the car with no spare - I have a month old Octy and there is no jack included, just the other kit listed on the earlier post. Im phoning scrappies regulaly hoping some poor sod has had a disagreement in their Octy and thus I can get a spare.

I don't know the offsets and stuff but you'd also do well to check not just the octavia but the A3, Golf and Jetta and the like.

The black spindly thing from my A3 fitted my FL but i didn't use it as they came to collect it and it needed all of its original parts.

From the RAC's T&Cs... I'm pretty sure the AA is similar in this regard

Costs

Cover shall not include the following:

4. Any costs incurred as a result of you failing to carry a serviceable spare tyre and wheel, or incurred

in arranging the removal of a wheel secured by locking wheel nuts when you are unable to provide

a serviceable key, appropriate to your vehicle, caravan or trailer.

Please note: Motorised vehicles that are manufactured without the provision of a spare wheel will be

considered on their individual merits. Assistance in changing a wheel is covered, subject to you

carrying a serviceable spare as specified above.

In other words, if you don't have a spare wheel the RAC will charge you extra costs, but if you point out to them that your car doesn't come with one as standard they may waive those costs....

I personally think it should be standard kit, but at least I noticed it was an option and specced it as there is now way in hell I'm travelling round the country with no spare wheel!!! A can of gunk doesn't re-inflate a tyre that's had a blow out, and even if you use it to get you home on a tyre that just has a puncture no tyre repair centre will fix it (not that any of have them fixed any punctured tyre I've had yet...)

With the distances in Aus, I should jolly well think so too!

That's somewhat of a misapprehension. Yes it's a big country but the average distance travelled per year in private vehicles is only 16,000km.

So if I go and order the spare wheel for my car off a dealer, what will I get?

A normal 16" steel one or a damned awful space saver one?

If I'm correct, the space saver is designed to work with the same bolts as the standard alloys, whereas a normal 16" steel wheel needs different bolts...

Be aware that the supposed full size spare wheel might not in fact be full sized at all. That is the case with the Yeti! The Yeti "Full Sized Spare Wheel" is a 16" Steel Rim with undersized tyres on it. Not very satisfactory in my opinion. I beleive that a proper full size and identical wheel and tyre should be an option but for some very strange reason it does not appear to be the case with the Yeti and could also be the case with other Skoda also. I will buy my Yeti without a spare and then buy an identical alloy rim with the correct tyre.

Be aware that the supposed full size spare wheel might not in fact be full sized at all. That is the case with the Yeti! The Yeti "Full Sized Spare Wheel" is a 16" Steel Rim with undersized tyres on it. Not very satisfactory in my opinion. I beleive that a proper full size and identical wheel and tyre should be an option but for some very strange reason it does not appear to be the case with the Yeti and could also be the case with other Skoda also. I will buy my Yeti without a spare and then buy an identical alloy rim with the correct tyre.

Depending on what wheels you have on the Yeti you may find that the same size wheel doesn't fit in the well...

Looking at mine, it looks like there is no way the 18" wheel is going to fit properly in the well if I have to put the 16" spare on the car as the alloy is significantly wider so the floor won't go flat with the wheel in the well... I'm kinda hoping that I never actually have to check this out for real though

Depending on what wheels you have on the Yeti you may find that the same size wheel doesn't fit in the well...

Looking at mine, it looks like there is no way the 18" wheel is going to fit properly in the well if I have to put the 16" spare on the car as the alloy is significantly wider so the floor won't go flat with the wheel in the well... I'm kinda hoping that I never actually have to check this out for real though

The yeti boot does not have wheel well as such look up to the post by The Plumber showing an image of the bottom of the boot.

I've got a 16" steel spare, as standard, and no extra bolts were supplied .Do I really need them? Must read the manual.

The spare has the dreaded 50mph yellow stickers.

I remember decades ago that my Jetta 16V GTI had a space saver and also did not have any additional bolts. IIRC , the holes in the hub were deep enough to take the extra threads . I assumed that the bolt/wheel interface was standardised for alloy and steel rims.

The spare has the dreaded 50mph yellow stickers.

Hence it's not a "standard" steel rim as fitted to cars without alloys.